Chinese Beef with Broccoli

GAPS, Paleo, GFCFSF, and LOD Friendly!  

I'll admit it, I've been excessively spoiled by homemade Chinese Food.  My husband's family is half Chinese, as in born in China and immigrated to the US, and his grandmother Nancy and late grandfather Alex loved to cook for us while Alex was still with us.  At one point, we lived around the corner from them, and it was amazing!  We were given recipes so we could make some of it at home, especially Chicken with Broccoli, which is my favorite.  We did make it, oh how we did!  That, however, was before we knew our son needed GAPS and the Low Oxalate Diet.  We wanted to make Chinese food that was GAPS legal, but GAPS has us soy-free and bottle from the Asian Market-free, and the LOD limits our spices, so I was stumped on how to do it for quite some time - until now!  I present you the closest thing I can make to my beloved Chicken with Broccoli, Chinese husband approved.  This recipe calls for beef and broccoli, but you can substitute any meat and vegetable you'd like.  I'm actually am making it with chicken tonight, and I've been told that it works great with turkey and turkey broth as well by my guinea pigs on the GAPSdiet Forum fellow GAPSters who tried it out to let me know if they felt it could be improved.  

I adapted this from a free online website with a Chinese brown sauce recipe, but I can't for the life of me find the recipe now.  If this seems like it is adapted from your recipe, then please let me know so that I can give you credit.

This recipe serves 4 and takes about 45 minutes to an hour to complete.  You can add more meat to the recipe if your family eats more meat than we do.

Ingredients

1 lb beef, preferably steak, sliced thinly (If you can't get organic, grass-fed, then choose a lean cut and trim off the fat.)
1 TBSP Organic, Raw Apple Cider Vinegar
1 TBSP White Wine or Broth (I've used both, and both work wonderfully)
1/4 tsp white Pepper
Salt, 1/2 tsp for marinade, and more to taste
2 cups beef or chicken broth, homemade (I usually use bone broth, but you can use a meat stock)
2 TBSP Coconut Aminos (Or Additive-Free Soy Sauce if you are not on GAPS, the LOD, or Soy-free)
1 TBSP honey
1 garlic clove, pressed (If not LOD, 1 tsp of garlic powder would probably provide a better flavor)
1/8 tsp ground red pepper
2 tsp grated ginger (Again, if not LOD, then I'd use powdered for better flavor)
1 TBSP Butter, Beef Tallow, Lard, or other saturated fat COLD
1 TBSP Fat to cook beef in, preferably organic, virgin, cold-pressed coconut oil or tallow
2 cups broccoli, steamed (boiled 10 minutes if LOD) or other vegetable of your choice

Method

Before cutting up all your vegetables and doing the rest of your prep, put your cut up beef in a bowl and add the wine (or broth), apple cider vinegar, and white pepper, and 1/2 tsp salt.  Mix well to coat. It should marinate about 30 minutes before you start cooking.

Start cooking by getting the fat you are using to cook the beef very hot and close to smoking, preferably in a wok. Cook the beef until it is brown on high heat. Remove to a plate and keep warm. If there are juices from the beef in the wok, leave them.  Get your vegetables cooking if you haven't already.

Stir together broth, coconut aminos (or soy sauce), honey, garlic, red pepper, salt to taste and ginger and dump it in the wok, scraping up brown bits. Boil and reduce the sauce by half, stirring and scraping down brown bits occasionally. This takes awhile. It's a great time to make a side dish while you're waiting, like cauliflower rice.

When the sauce is reduced, add in the cold fat and mix. This should help thicken it. Taste it to make sure it is salty enough and add more salt if necessary. Add the beef and the cooked vegetables, but not the juices from the beef unless if your sauce is too thick.  If your sauce is too thick, add 1/2 tsp of beef juice from the plate at a time until desired consistency is reached. Serve over cauliflower rice if you are grain-free, or over soaked brown rice. (A great recipe is available in Nourishing Traditions by Sally Fallon Morell, or you can find one on a Google search if you need to!)


I hope you enjoy it!  There is no need to be deprived, no matter what the needs of your family are!